Page 73 of His Juliet

38

ROMEO

I stared at my phone,dreading what I needed to do. It wasn’t safe for me to be around Juliet, at least while the Butcher was still in the city.

I wasn’t good for her. She deserved softness and safety. She thought she’d been talking to Romeo, the reputable businessman, not Romeo, the Mafia underboss. I held onto the hope that once we dismantled the Albanians, I could pick things back up with her. That was, if she even still wanted me. I would eventually have to tell her the truth of who I was, and the fear of her rejection haunted me.

Right now, though, I knew what I had to do. I had to let her go so she could be safe.

Romeo

I have to cancel tonight. I have to go out of town for a last minute work thing

Juliet

Oh, that sucks. When are you leaving? Do you want to maybe come over to my place for a quick bite of food before you go?

Romeo

I’m already on my way to the airport

Juliet

That was fast

Romeo

Sorry I couldn’t say goodbye in person, this came up really quick

Juliet

Are you going back to Chicago?

Romeo

Yes, we’re still working on this merger. It’ll be really busy so I probably won’t be able to talk a lot

A bubble appeared as Juliet typed, stopped, started again, and stopped.

Juliet

Oh of course

Don’t worry about me

Not that you were worried about me, ha

Ignore me

I hope everything goes well. Eat some deep-dish pizza for me

With each one of her texts, my heart broke a little more. My Juliet, who didn’t understand how much she deserved. I grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and threw it with a scream. It flopped unsatisfyingly onto the floor.

I tore at my hair as I spun around the room, trying to figure out my next steps. The longer I stood there, the more my desperation turned to fury. This whole situation was the Albanians’ fault. They were keeping me from my girl and threatening the safety of my family, and I would do everything I could to destroy them.

39

JULIET

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